In Pictures: Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution
- By Lucie Steinzova and
- Stuart Greer
Forty years ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini spearheaded an Islamic Revolution that deposed Iran's shah. The country's authoritarian monarchy was replaced by a repressive theocracy, and almost overnight, Iran was transformed from a crucial U.S. ally to bitter foe.
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A U.S.citizen carries belongings past an armed Khomeini loyalist who is guarding an evacuee staging area in Tehran on February 17, 1979. Hundreds of Americans began to flee Iran following the first attempt to seize the U.S. Embassy.
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Armed men loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini stand guard at Teheran's Mehrabad International Airport on February 18, 1979. Hundreds of U.S. citizens attempted to board an evacuation flight to leave Iran.
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Tens of thousands of Iranian women gather in Tehran on March 16, 1979, to support Ayatollah Khomeini's call for women to adhere to Islamic laws. This included the wearing of a long black garment, the chador.
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A padlock on the gate of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 27, 1979, with students demonstrating inside after taking control of the compound. They took 52 Americans hostage and demanded the Shah be returned to Iran. The Iran hostage crisis would last 444 days until January 1981.
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Mullahs march past Ayatollah Khomeini's house in Qom on December 17, 1979 in display of solidarity with the Iranian leader. Khomeini became Iran's Supreme Leader that month.
